Mentor Texts for WritersMarcie Flinchum Atkins

Who am I?

www.marcieatkins.com

HousekeepingAll handouts are on www.marcieatkins.com

Notes

Printables

Bibliographies

Everything referenced here

Write down your Q&As

We spend a lot of time

writing

But we get frustrated

when we can’t get it to go

from our heads !

to the paper.

We have finite resources.

We’d all like to have our books on the shelves.

We can all learn from the masters.

Mentor TextsA stellar text that can be used as a

model for good writing.

Design your own personalized course.

Choose your course based on your needs.

MG Magical Realism

PB BiographyCharacter Driven

PB

Design the course focusing on: YOUR WEAKNESSES

Plot? Characters? Setting? Structure? Dialogue?

Make two lists: Strengths Weaknesses

How do I figure out my strengths and weaknesses?

Look for books that are strong in your area of

weakness.

Where do you find the books?

Design the course focusing on: YOUR INTERESTS

I

3 Piles of Books to Study

3 PilesBooks that you like but couldn’t write

3 PilesBooks that are similar in style or books that you’d like to write like

Design the course focusing on: HOW you want to study

Digital or Analog

Study the mentors

Macro Micro

* Genre * Organization * Tone * Voice * Setting * Character * Plot * Point of View

* Word Choice * Specificity of Language * Vivid Verbs * Sensory Words * Imagery * Word Play * Descriptive Language

* Figurative Language * Simile/Metaphor * Onomatopoeia * Alliteration

* Sentence Variety * Dialogue * Leads * Endings

Macro Level Studies

Structures

PlotPlot Clock

Character Development

Micro Level Studies

Scene LevelLizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

Sentence LevelTitles, Beginning Sentences, Endings,

Refrains

Word Level

Specificity

Strong Verbs

Onomatopoeia

Sensory Words

Word Level

Specificity

Strong Verbs

Onomatopoeia

Sensory Words

Test your knowledge Apply it to your OWN

writing.

Borrow a structure

Use a structure of the whole book you like and

test drive it.

Example: M, T, W, Th, F

Use a technique to write a scene.

Example: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy zooming in technique

Restructure your draft into something new.

REWRITE

Try a hands-on technique

Plot Clock

Highlighting

Build on your STRENGTHS and strengthen your

WEAKNESSES.

Create Your Own Toolbox

Make it your own

www.marcieatkins.com

Send me Questions to marcie@marcieatkins.com by Sunday, January 19

!

I will do a follow up blog post with answers